Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University English Dissertations Department of English 5-6-2019 Transformation and Punishment: Revisiting Monstrosity in Anglo- Saxon Literature Virginia Rachel Scoggins Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss Recommended Citation Scoggins, Virginia Rachel, "Transformation and Punishment: Revisiting Monstrosity in Anglo-Saxon Literature." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2019. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss/224 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TRANSFORMATION AND PUNISHMENT: REVISITING MONSTROSITY IN ANGLO- SAXON LITERATURE by VIRGINIA RACHEL SCOGGINS Under the Direction of Edward John Christie, PhD ABSTRACT Anglo-Saxon scholars generally define monsters within very narrow parameters: monsters are beings that are against nature and therefore not human. Examples of these Anglo- Saxon monsters include Grendel, Grendel’s mom, and the dragon from Beowulf. However, Old English poetry contains another type of monsters often overlooked by scholars: the monstrous human. Human monstrosities present fascinating hybrid figures that visually look like humans, but who display characteristics of monsters. Under Foucault’s punishment theory, these monstrous humans serve as spectator punishments who are transformed because of their crimes against society. By analyzing lexical descriptions and applying theoretical concepts, I argue that a new category of monster should be recognized in Anglo-Saxon literature. Monstrous humans appear in both Anglo-Saxon biblical and heroic poetry. In the biblical texts Judith and Daniel, the main antagonists, Holofernes and Nebuchadnezzar, act as human monstrosities. They are characterized by their excessive vices, and through these vices, they lose their reason and ultimately their humanity. Similarly, in Beowulf, the bad king Heremod serves as a warning because his vice and evil actions lead him to be cast from the community and stripped of his humanity. Furthermore, Beowulf also illustrates human monstrosities since Beowulf and the Geats are depicted as dangerous, violent figures that are more monstrous than heroic when they are first introduced, which reflects the savage duality present within the warrior identity. Analyzing the texts through contemporary theoretical concepts also helps elucidate how monstrous humans function outside their societies. By using Kristeva’s theory of abjection, I examine how Holofernes both repulses and fascinates as a vice-ridden monster. Judith Butler’s performative identity theory applies to Heremod, who rejects his social role and therefore transforms into a monster, and to the armored Geats, who undertake monstrous violent acts as part of their performative warrior identity. Each of these texts explores the important relationship between humanity and monstrosity and how reason is the chief characteristic that keeps one from being termed a beast. INDEX WORDS: Monstrosity, Anglo-Saxon, Beowulf, Transformation, Punishment, Judith TRANSFORMATION AND PUNISHMENT: REVISITING MONSTROSITY IN ANGLO- SAXON LITERATURE by VIRGINIA RACHEL SCOGGINS A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2019 Copyright by Virginia Rachel Scoggins 2019 TRANSFORMATION AND PUNISHMENT: REVISITING MONSTROSITY IN ANGLO- SAXON LITERATURE by VIRGINIA RACHEL SCOGGINS Committee Chair: Edward Christie Committee: Scott Lightsey David Johnson Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2019 iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my sister, who has always encouraged me in all of my scholarly pursuits. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank many people for their support along the way. First, I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Eddie Christie, for not only introducing me to Old English and Anglo-Saxon literature, but for helping me cultivate my love and zeal for the field. Without Dr. Christie’s expertise and his diligence in forcing me to find my own academic voice, I would never have become the scholar I am today. Many thanks also go to my friend and mentor, Dan Marshall. Dan has been a constant source of support and answers when I did not know who to turn to or where to seek information. No matter what stage of my doctoral career, Dan always pushed me to better myself as a scholar and educator. Without his friendship and encouragement, I probably would have quit more than once. As always, he helped me see greater things in myself than I could on my own. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ V 1 INTRODUCTION: CONSIDERING THE HUMAN MONSTROSITY..................... 1 1.1 Reading Anglo-Saxon Punishment Through Foucault’s Punishment Theory ..... 8 1.2 Why the Head? Abjection with Beheadings .......................................................... 14 1.3 Monstrosity through Performativity...................................................................... 18 2 CHAPTER ONE: THE BEHEADING OF HOLOFERNES: LOSS OF HUMANITY, REASON, AND THE HEAD IN THE OLD ENGLISH JUDITH ..... 26 2.1 The Head in Old English Literature ...................................................................... 31 2.2 The Gluttonous Feast of Holofernes ...................................................................... 44 2.3 Holofernes as a Monstrous Human ........................................................................ 50 2.4 Decapitation as Transformation Punishment ....................................................... 59 2.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 66 3 CHAPTER TWO: MARKING SIGNS OF PUNISHMENT UPON THE BODY: MENTAL INSTABILITY AND TRANSFORMATION PUNISHMENT IN OLD ENGLISH GENESIS RETELLINGS ........................................................................... 68 3.1 Anglo-Saxon Concept of Sin ................................................................................... 70 3.2 Physical Transformations as Punishment in Old English Genesis Retellings .... 79 3.3 Nebuchadnezzar’s Mental Instability .................................................................... 89 3.4 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 113 vii 4 CHAPTER THREE: READING HEREMOD AS A MONSTROUS HUMAN: PERFORMATIVE IDENTITY AND MONSTROUS TRANSFORMATION IN BEOWULF’S DIGRESSIONS .................................................................................... 115 4.1 Heremod’s Rejection of Performative Social Roles ............................................ 117 4.2 The Monstrous Human ......................................................................................... 123 4.3 Heremod as a Monstrous King ............................................................................. 131 4.4 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 150 5 CHAPTER FOUR: GRÆG OND GRIM: FINDING A DUPLICITOUS WARRIOR IDENTITY THROUGH PARANOMASIA AND METAPHOR IN BEOWULF .. 152 5.1 Armor as signifying objects .................................................................................. 154 5.2 Armor, the fyrd, and the Anglo-Saxon Warrior ................................................. 161 5.3 Armor as performative and monstrous transformation .................................... 166 5.4 Descriptions of light and fire in the armor in Beowulf ....................................... 173 5.5 The Boar's Head Helmet ....................................................................................... 202 5.6 Removal of the Armor ........................................................................................... 205 6 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 209 WORKS CITED........................................................................................................................ 215 1 1 INTRODUCTION: CONSIDERING THE HUMAN MONSTROSITY In Mandeville’s Travels, the narrator states, “a monster is a þing difformed aȝen kynde bothe of man or of best or of ony þing ells & þat is cleped a Monstre.” In Middle English, kynde is defined as “the natural disposition or temperament of a person or animal; inherent qualities or properties of persons, animals; essential character” (MED). A monster is something deformed against the natural, innate external and internal properties that make humans unique and separate from beasts. A monster, then, is something that is neither a beast nor a man, something that goes against nature. Some critics define monster as a being of a fantastic race, the sole being in an unnatural race, a being that lives on the outskirts of society or categorization (Cohen; Friedman; Mittman; Oswald; Verner). A monster is a threat against the human world – which represents normality – and resides outside of the realm of humanity. Sometimes, these monsters live off